Do You Need a Place for the Night?
by FlowerPainter
Summary: After a long day at work, all Draco wanted was to submerge himself in a nice, refreshing glass of firewhisky. However, this normal post-work drink has got him talking to a certain curly haired brunette. A rather hammered one at that.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello people of the world! It's been a while…well, this story hit me last night at around midnight, so I just started typing. This is a lot of firsts for me…first Harry Potter, first romance, and first T rated fic. It's T for some language and a drunk Hermione. They both may be a bit OOC…but, Hermione is drunk and Draco is somewhat humbled after the war. I just feel like he has changed since that. I'm also thinking of just making this a one shot, but I might make it more. Who knows.**

**This story isn't my best so bare with it :)**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter. However, I do dream.**

I walked into the leaky cauldron after a long, hard, and trying day at work. "Tom, bring me a firewhisky when you get the chance." I told the old bartender as I sat at on a stool next to an extremely hammered looking lady.

"Right, here you are then Mr. Malfoy." Tom set the glass down in front of me. When he said my name the girl next to me glanced up, which didn't surprise me; everyone knew Draco Malfoy, ex-death eater.

"M-Mal *Hiccup* foy?" the petite brunette which asked me. I turned to really look at her and was taken aback.

"Granger?" I asked and I smelled the firewhisky on her breathe, "Whoa, are you drunk?"

"No of course I'm not *Hic* drunk. I wouldn't do something…like…that *Hic*." I stared at her.

"Maybe you should go home, Granger." I never thought I would see the day when Hermione Granger would be completely hammered. Someone call the Daily Prophet.

"Tom, give me another." She requested as she picked up her empty glass.

Tom came over to give her more, "How many have you given her already?" I asked, shocked.

Tom grinned at me sheepishly, "Well, she was so upset, you see, and we were kind of busy when she first arrived so…I kind of lost track." He ended, somewhat ashamed, with his head bowed.

I turned and looked at Granger again as she finished off her latest glass. Something must have been seriously wrong for her to be drinking, one, and to be this drunk, two. "Uhm…Granger?" I asked as Tom went off to tend to other customers, "What…happened?" I cringed at the way I asked. Thankfully, she was too drunk to comment.

"Nothings *Hic* wrong. I just decided to have a few drinks after *Hic* A long day of evil weasels being bastards." She said this so plainly, but her words had started to slur, and I'm sure that the look on my face was somewhat humorous-Eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

"What happened with the weasel?" I asked quietly. I had never liked that dumbass when we were in school. He was nothing more than a big, ginger oaf.

"Well, I'm not sure if you knew this *Hic* but, the two of us were to be married in one week. Just one week." She paused and stared into her empty glass as if held the key to the world. And I had heard that they were to be married. It was in all the wizard magazines and everyone claimed it would be the best wedding of the year (Potters had won last year's).

"Go on." I encouraged, wanting to know more as to why Hermione had to decided to go out and get drunk. Maybe she finally realized the stupid weasel was a bad choice.

"So I went into work today *Hic* and my coworkers were all staring at me with so much damn pity in their *Hic* eyes. Finally, I asked Blaise –You know Blaise Zabini, right?- anyway, I asked him what was wrong with everybody." She sighed and didn't say anything for a minute. I knew this story was going nowhere good, so I was weary for her to continue. But the curiosity got the better of me.

"What happened next?" I asked gently, which surprised me. Again, thankfully, Granger was too drunk to notice my weird, out-of-character tone.

She just looked at me for a second and then said, "You know, Draco, you're really attractive." I just stared. "Way more attractive than Ronald," she grimaced, "and Harry. Even in Hogwarts you were attractive, you were just too big of an arse to get along with." She ranted for a second. She sighed and hiccupped again. "Draco?" She asked.

"Uhm…yeah?" I was hesitant as to what her drunk state might ask me. Plus, she had called me Draco…couldn't be a good sign.

"Have you ever cheated on any of your girlfriends?" she finally asked. I froze as I started to understand. She looked at me with her big brown eyes and they were so full of…sadness. I had never really noticed in Hogwarts, because she was so dang annoying, but she really was quite beautiful. Starting with those chocolate brown eyes. She had tamed her hair quite a bit too. I shook my head to get rid of these thoughts. She just told me that her fiancé had cheated on her. Now was not the time to be thinking of her in that way. I felt an strange sense of anger toward the weasel. How could he just go and cheat on the girl who had obviously had a crush on him for years (it was that obvious).

"Hermione…I'm sorry." I told her. And I was. She deserved so much better than that oaf, and he most defiantly did not deserve her.

She sighed again, "The thing is, we were supposed to get married in a week. In exactly one week. At the Weaselys house. Just like Bill and Fleur. But this morning, Blaise showed me an article in Witch Weekly. The stupid bastard *Hic* cheated on me. With three different girls *Hic* on the same night." Another sigh. "Three *Hic* girls."

I was-for once- speechless. I literally had no clue what to say. 'I'm sorry' didn't seem like enough, and what I wanted to say would be too much.

She continued, "It's like he just forgot about all the things we've been through together." She hiccupped before she started listing some of these things, "First, there was the three headed dog and the giant chess board.*Hic* Then, the world's largest snake and the memory of Tom Riddle…even if I was *Hic* petrified during that part." She mused. "Then there was riding the Hippogriff…wait that was with Harry. *Hic* And saving him from that stupid rat."

Part of me started to wonder if all of this was the firewhisky talking…but, knowing Potter and what he gets himself and then drags his friends into, it probably wasn't. I was pretty surprised at the Hippogriff comment. I mean I was pretty sure that thing was dead. "Then being stuck in the bottom of the lake *Hic*. And then the return of Voldemort. Then, breaking into the Ministry and almost being killed by a bunch of Deatheaters."

I remembered that. My father and my aunt had been so pissed off after that, and my father had been…punished for not bringing back the prophecy. My father had come away from that experience…colder, more bitter. And he wanted vengeance as if he were a starving man who wanted to get food.

She continued with her story, "And then we were there when…Dumbledore died." She looked sad again as she remembered that, and I felt guilt hit me strong and hard. Before I had time to recover, she continued, "We destroyed all of those horcruxes together. We rode on that dragon…after we broke into Greengotts. And broke into Bellatrix's vault. And…then the *Hic*…manor." I froze. I didn't ever know that _that _memory would be forced upon me tonight. I tried to repress it, but again, it came on full force…

_Her screams echoed through the manor as my crazy aunt tortured her. "Tell me where you got the sword, Mudblood!" She screamed manically. "No! No I didn't! I didn't steal it!" she screamed again as the letter M was carved into her soft, pale skin. "No! No, I swear!" and then the U was carved in. She looked up at me. I didn't drop eye contact until the rest of the letters were carved. I had to admire her strength. Only one tear had slid down her alabaster cheeks._

I shook my head at the memory. My aunt had wanted vengence almost as much as my father had, and she got it in that day. She looked at me strangely. "You know, Malfoy, *Hic* when we were at the manor…when your aunt was…you know. You seemed so…different. You looked like you cared." She looked away, and I was glad for that. It gave me time to rearrange the look on my face. I didn't think she had noticed while it had happened. But, she was right; I had cared. More than she knew.

She looked like she was about to order another drink, so I intervened. "Granger, I think you should get home soon. I can give you a ride." I offered. I had gotten a Muggle car, because I heard from Blaise that they were a nice way to travel without having to worry about getting splinched or ruining your clothes. He was right. I wasn't sure what was getting into me. We used to be enemies, and now here she was telling me all about her personal life, and here I was offering her a ride home. Granted, she was drunk.

She laughed a drunk, humorless laugh. "I can't go home." She laughed again, more hysterically this time.

"Why not?" I asked, wary again of the drunk witch. I was getting truly concerned.

"Because *Hic* He and I have been living in the same flat for *Hic* months. And I can't go back to see him. I *Hic* can't." She sounded so tired, so depressed, so lonely. All of these were emotions I had felt once. Right after the war. I felt as though I were alone. I couldn't let her feel that same loneliness. I learned that everything I had been taught as I had grown up was a lie. Every twisted Mudblood comment, every so-called fact that Purebloods were so much better was a lie. When everything I knew was lost, I simply couldn't truly adjust to this new mindset. And at first, I had felt I was all alone. Then I reconnected with Blaise and started having weekly meetings with my mother. I had slowly healed. But I knew what that had felt like and that wasn't something she should feel. All because of that stupid weasel.

I made a completely rash and un-Malfoy like decision, "Granger, would you like to stay with me tonight?"

**So? What do you think? Good? Bad? Worthy of another chapter? Worthy of being deleted? Well, regardless, review. For the piece in mind of the author, please review. Love you all!**

**Keep Calm and Call Batman**

**You're a lizard, Harry! (BlueHeelsKill) **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Well, first of all thanks so much for reviewing! I got a really positive response, so I am continuing on with this story. YAY! So, I hope you all enjoy this! Please, R&R!**

**Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. I can take no credit, unfortunately.**

Draco POV

I woke up before I opened my eyes, and the first thing I noticed was that I was extremely uncomfortable. I frowned and opened my eyes to see what caused this discomfort, when I realized I had fallen asleep on my couch. Confusion rushed over me; since when had I ever fallen asleep on the couch? Then the previous night rushed back to me and I understood.

Oh.

It was Hermione.

I remembered that she had been so drunk and so depressed, that I just couldn't sit there and do nothing, so I had offered to let her stay at my flat for the night. I was now starting to question my own sanity. When Granger woke up, and got past her hangover, she would be…probably livid. I mean, first of all, she wouldn't have remembered even talking to me last night at the Leaky Cauldron, let alone remember that she agreed to stay the night.

I quickly got off my couch and went quietly to my room, where I led Granger to last night. I opened the door a crack, and she was fast asleep, still wearing yesterdays clothes. I momentarily wondered if I should take her wand, just so she wouldn't use it against me, but then decided that she would hex me even worse when she got it back.

My stomach growled, so I went to the kitchen to make some eggs , bacon, and coffee. Coffee would be perfect for Grangers hangover. I had to resist the urge to smirk at the fact that _Hermione Granger _would have a hangover. I resisted, because the only reason that she had gotten drunk in the first place was because that stupid weasel cheated on her. With three girls. While they were engaged. And a week before the wedding, no less.

I thought of the stupid weasel, as I started breaking the eggs for my omelet, and I was momentarily pissed off at him. Well…more so then normal. I always thought he was a worthless jerk, but now he was a worthless, lying, cheating jerk. It had been a well known fact in Hogwarts that the two of them would get together, just like Potter and the Weasley girl. I had honestly not cared, because their relationships were of no interest to me. And they wouldn't be now…if not for a drunk Granger last night.

As the coffee finished brewing and I put the sizzling bacon on a plate, I began debating different ways to try and contact Potter so he could come and collect Granger so that he could deal with her hangover, and so she wouldn't kill me when she finally woke up.

I finished making my bacon and cheese omelet and set it down on the table, when I wondered if I should try waking Granger up. She might be really hung-over…she probably won't even remember that she told me all of that stuff last night…she will probably hex me into oblivion…all these thoughts ran through my mind when, all of a sudden, a new horrible idea struck me.

What if she thinks I toke advantage of her?

For the record, I did not. I never would have. But, she wouldn't know that. I got up and started walking to my fireplace so I could floo either Blaise and Potter (Because Potter was her best friend and Blaise was mine, plus he was worked with her now. Some weird care for magical creatures thing…) when I heard a somewhat muffled and rough, "What the hell am I…? Where the hell am I...?" I silently cursed as I went to face the music.

.0.0.

_Hermione POV_

_I woke up feeling very comfortable. But I had an excruciating headache. I rolled over in bed and decided to sleep until the headache went away. Then the previous day started to come back to me in slow flashes… Zabinis' look of sympathy, The Daily Prophet, a bright red shock of hair, Ron's angry face yelling at me, a bar, several empty glasses in front of me, an unmistakable head of white/blonde hair. Malfoy?_

_I opened my eyes and sat up quickly, which was a big mistake, as it caused my headache to get worse and made me have whiplash. I didn't recognize this room. Right then is when I realized that the reason I was so disoriented was because I was very hung-over. I, for the life of me, could not remember last night. At all. Part of me even wondered if Tom had prepared this room for me to stay in whilst I was in my drunk state. Then I realized this place was just a little too nice to be a room in the Leaky Cauldron. _

"_What the hell am _ I_…? Where the hell am I…?" I asked before the smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee hit me. I slowly got out of the comfortable bed (I still didn't know whose bed it was) and went out of the room to see just where I was. I slowly creaked the door open. _

"_Malfoy?!"_

.0.0.

Draco POV

For the record, it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. She had to run back into my room to grab her wand (See, you know it's a problem when Granger leaves her wand in a place she doesn't know) so I had the advantage. When she turned to run into my room, I turned and grabbed my wand. I quickly put up a shield as she ran back in with a furious look on her face and her wand aimed at me.

"What the bloody hell are you playing at, Malfoy? Did you kidnap me or something? Or drug me?"

I was momentarily confused, "Drug you?"

"Never mind," she huffed, "Start explaining. Now."

I sighed, trying to find the best way to explain. "Well…last night I went to the Leaky Cauldron. To have a drink after a very long day," I began, "and I saw you there. You had already had…quite a few drinks before I got there." I could see she tried really hard to remember this, and by the frustrated look on her face, she wasn't succeeding, "And…well, you told me a few things-"

"What things?" She interrupted, her voice a deadly calm that told me she had a painful hex at the ready. I shifted and made sure the barrier between the two of us was still strong.

"Well…" I edited the Hogwarts stuff and the brief stuff about me, "You said some stuff about Weasley." I informed her.

She froze, "Is…is that all?" Her face was like stone and gave nothing away.

Being Slytherian through and through, I lied to save my own skin, "Yea, that's all."

She breathed in slowly through her nose. I cleared my throat and she glared up at me, "Uhm, Granger? Do you want a coffee or something?" I cringed at my stupid question, but it's not like I could take it back now.

She looked really surprised and suspicious, but, after a while of contemplations, she replied, "I'll take that coffee to go."

**AN: So? How was it? I'm feeling kind of iffy about this chapter, so please review so I know whether it was any good or not. Plus, I need ideas so, review! I Love you all and thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gah. Where to begin? Well, for starters finals are starting this week (wish me good luck), so it may take me even longer to update then normal, but Christmas break is coming up, so I will have plenty of time to write. Yay! **

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Harry Potter. **

Draco POV

I gave her the coffee and she didn't waste any time flooing out of my flat. I could barely even say bye before she was shouting out Number 12 Grimold Place. I didn't waste much time either. The second she was gone, I finished my omelet, put my coffee in a travel mug, and flooed to Blaise's flat.

"Zabini!" I yelled when I got in.

"Yes?" A high, feminine and entirely not Blaise like voice answered.

I sighed in frustration, "Not you, Pansy." After Pansy realized that there really was nothing between us (a huge sigh of relief for me) she and Blaise started dating. They got married about a year ago.

She laughed at my expense, "I know. I just wanted to irritate you," She looked at my face and smirked, "It appears I have succeeded."

I rolled my eyes at her, but smirked in response, "So, where is your husband?"

"I'm right here, mate," Blaise said as he walked in, "What's wrong?"

"I was harassing him." Said Pansy, still satisfied with my irritation.

He looked skeptical, "Is that all?"

"No. I was going to come here to tell you something, but your wife distracted to me." I glared at her and she winked.

"Alright then, let's hear it." He said.

I looked at Pansy pointedly.

Blaise sighed, "Draco, you can tell her these things to, you know. It's not like she-"

"No, Blaise, it's fine. I was going to go shopping anyway," She grinned at me, "Feel free to gossip in peace."

"We are not gossip-"

"I'll see you boys later!" she kissed Blaise on the cheek and gave me a quick hug before disapperating with a loud pop.

I sighed and Blaise grinned at me, "So, what is it we are gossiping about?"

I glared, "Granger spent the night at my place last night."

He stared at me, eyes wide, jaw hanging open, "What?!"

"It's not as bad as it sounds…"

Hermione POV

"Harry! Harry where are you?!" I shouted the second I got into his house.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Harry rushed into the room with a toothbrush clutched in his hand.

"I need your help." I noticed that, as I said this, I sounded slightly hysteric.

"With what? What happened?" He paused and sniffed the air, "Since when do you drink coffee?"

"Since I woke up today in Draco Malfoy's house with the worst hangover ever." I rushed after I took a large gulp of the still hot drink. I felt the scalding liquid burn my throat and I used that to distract me from the look on Harrys' face.

He stared at me, "You…you're joking, right? You have got to be joking me." He said quietly. I glanced up at him and his face screamed fury.

"First things first, I need you to give me some of the ingredients for that potion that helps you remember what happened when you were drunk. I need to know what happened, because I am positive Malfoy didn't tell me what all happened."

"Do you…think he…took advan-"

"I really don't know," and there was the hysteria again, "That's why I need to brew this potion," I paused, "and drink more coffee." I added quietly.

"I'm gonna kill Malfoy."

"Well, actually, if I were you, I would kill Ron first," the resentment in my voice shocked me, "He's the reason I even went and got drunk."

"What?" He seemed genuinely surprised and I sighed.

"Have you not read the Daily Prophet recently? 'Weasley cheats on fiancé Granger with three girls a week before wedding'." I recited with malice laced in every word.

"Oh Hermione…I'm so sorry. I didn't know." He sounded sad with a mixture of a slight bit of anger towards the other third of our Golden Trio. "Alright, I'll go get the ingredients for the potion. Then we can figure what all happened."

"Thanks Harry." I sighed.

"It's the least I can do…" He walked into a closet where he kept all of his magical ingredients and he started pulling the proper things off the shelves.

I was suddenly struck by a thought, "Where's your wife?" I hadn't seen the fiery redhead here and I felt bad that I hadn't noticed earlier.

"Oh! She's with her mother. Something about arranging a family get together…I don't know. I decided not to go with them." He started to put the ingredients into his cauldron and I just gulped down more coffee.

"That sounds like it will be nice…" I murmured feeling my temper flare as I thought of the redhead who broke my heart.

We had such a nice relationship. Some would have even called us the perfect couple (after Harry and Ginny). And, I have to admit, our relationship did seem perfect…at least in the beginning. Even in Hogwarts, we had such a nice relationship, even if we were just friends. I'd like to say that if he hadn't been with Lavender during sixth year, then we would have gotten together earlier, but I have no idea. Now I really don't know. It's like a punch in the gut. When we started dating, I was overjoyed. I thought that he finally realized (as vain as it sounds) that I was the perfect girl for him. And when he proposed, I felt like everything was finally happening as it should. I felt like it was fate. Now, it felt like it was all a sick joke. Like dangling a peanut butter sandwich in front of a hungry man, handing it to him, then snatching it away right as he was about to take a bite and laughing in his face. Three times.

"Alright. It has to simmer for about ten minutes then it will be ready to drink." Harrys voice interrupted my mental turmoil.

"Thanks." I sounded strange, even to myself.

"You ok, Mione? You don't think Malfoy tried anything, do you?"

I paused at this, "No. I don't think he did," I was confused as hell by this situation. I still didn't even know why I was in Malfoy's house. I mean, this morning when I saw him, he looked almost…sympathetic? Maybe a little sad? I shook my head to clear those thoughts. This was Draco Malfoy. The boy who had tortured me for years. The childhood nemesis of my best friend. There must be something behind those sympathetic, silvery grey eyes.

"Well, now we get to find out," Harry handed me a glass of the foul smelling potion.

I toasted to him and murmured, "Bottoms up," I downed the glass.

Draco POV

"You know, if I had known she was just going to go out and get wasted after I told her about the story in the Daily Prophet, I would have called Potter or someone first. Now she's probably gonna come find you and hex you into oblivion," He mused, "Sorry, mate."

I rolled my eyes, "She almost did this morning. Thankfully I anticipated it, and I shielded myself just in time."

Blaise laughed, "Thank goodness you're a quick thinker," He stopped laughing, "So, what are you going to do?"

"I have no clue!" I groaned, "I'm sure she's already told Potter and company and now, I'm going to have a bunch of Aurors after me." I sat down on his leather sofa and sipped my coffee and felt it burn my throat and I welcomed that burn to distract me from my problems.

"Well, that's probably true…" I glared at him and he quickly carried on, "But, you at least have to come up with some kind of plan to…I don't know throw them off!"

"For example?" I was very skeptical of his plans. I was way more comfortable running to save my own skin. It was the Slytherian way.

"Come on now, Draco! You always know how deal with a sticky situation. Think back to our Hogwarts days."

"Zabini, in our Hogwarts to days, I was an arse to everyone, even and especially Granger."

"True… Alright, fine. I work with her now, right? Maybe I'll just talk to her at the office tomorrow, and then we'll see how she reacts."

"Oh, that will go over just great I can tell," I murmured sarcastically as I began to mimic what Blaise would probably say, "Hey Hermione. You know how you were totally wasted over the weekend and how you woke up at Draco's place? Yea, well, can you pretty please not hex him, because he really doesn't want you to kill him and he was only trying to help."

"That's probably exactly what I will say."

I glared, "You do that, Zabini, and _I_ will hex you into oblivion."

He smirked at me, "Do you have any other suggestions?"

Hermione POV

"I made a complete and utter fool of myself!" I moaned as the previous night all came rushing back to me. Every stupid word I uttered and every unnerving and totally confusing face Malfoy had made at me. What was with all the sympathy and sadness in his expressions? Where was the much more familiar sneer and rude remarks that I had gotten so used to in my childhood.

And I was even more shocked that he really hadn't tried anything, anything at all. Not even a kiss. He just took me to his flat and brought me to his room. He didn't sleep on his own bed in his own flat. He choose the couch. I was utterly confused.

"Come on now, Mione, I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Harry, you don't understand. I said some of the stupidest things ever." I groaned as I thought of my comments on how attractive he was. I shuddered.

"Like what?" Harry seemed slightly weary of my answer. Thankfully, I was saved from answering it by his wife.

"Harry, Harry you won't believe what Mum and I have planned for the- Oh Mione! Hi, how are you?" She rushed in and gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Uhm…I'm ok."

She paused to look at me, "What's wrong," She demanded.

I glanced at Harry for some help on that one. I didn't want to rehash the details.

"Uhm…well, you see, love," Harry began slowly. I braced myself for the fireworks. He leaned in next to her and whispered something into her ear.

"_What_?!" Ginny yelled, her face going entirely red in anger.

"And…well I got a little…drunk," I started while Ginny was silently fuming, "and I kind of woke up at Draco Malfoy's house."

Ginny's face immediately went from crimson red to pale white. Then she laughed nervously, "You know Mione," She laughed, "it almost sounded like you just said that you got drunk," she giggled and I blushed, "And then it sounded like you said you woke up at Draco Malfoy's place." She laughed loudly at this.

Harry and I just stared at her. I nervously bit my lip.

She finally noticed our somber faces and stopped laughing immediately, "You're not kidding. You're serious. You actually…"

"Nothing happened, Gin!" I quickly informed her as she looked like she was about to go out, find Malfoy and hex him to death. "I just stayed the night, because I was too drunk to come here and I couldn't have gone back to Ron's and my apartment. And he was at the bar where I got…drunk."

"I'm going to freaking kill my brother! And Malfoy!" Ginny shouted.

"Ginny, don't."

There was a loud pop and a head of red hair rushed into the room #the hair was the same color as Ginny's, only shorter#. I felt my face immeadietly go into a scowl.

"Harry, Ginny! I have to talk to you guys-" He froze when he saw me standing there, "M-Mione! We need to talk-"

"It's too late for that, Ronald." I heard the venom laced into my every word, and I just couldn't find it in me to care, "It is way too late for any of your excuses." And before anyone could say another word, I apparated out of there.

**AN: Alrighty, here it is. Thanks so much for reading! Please review to let me know what you all thought! Reviews are like air -necessary for life. Also, if there is anything you guys want to see happen in this story, let me know. I will try to incorporate your ideas.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry it's been a while. I kind of froze in this story. But, here it is. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks for taking the time to read this! **

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Harry Potter. Still. Or ever.**

**Hermione POV**

I rushed out of the fireplace into the Ministry. I could no longer take the looks of sympathy from anyone and I wished I could just apperate straight to the safety of my office, away from sympathetic eyes.

I thought back to yesterday afternoon, and my very brief encounter with Ron. Then I thought back to when Blaise had told me about the story in the Daily Prophet, and had I apperated straight to the Canons practice field where I knew he was practicing.

_Cormac was the first person I saw, so I marched straight up to him. He looked up as I stormed up to him and he smiled, "Hey Hermione. How are-"_

"_Where is he?" I growled, hearing the resentment in my voice._

"_Who, Weasley?" he asked dumbly._

"_Who else?" I hissed sarcastically._

_He looked wounded by my tone and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes, "He just went onto the pitch."_

"_Thanks." I mumbled before I quickly went to the pitch._

"_Morning Mione. What brings you to the pitch-" the redhead started when he saw me, a smile on his stupid, freckled face._

_I pulled out my wand and pointed it as his face, "I am giving you five minutes to explain."_

"_Whoa there, Mione. Calm down. What's wrong?"_

_I accioed a copy of the Daily Prophet and shoved in his face, "This…This is what's wrong." I noticed, in horror, tears that threatened to fall. I watched as the look of amusement he had had due to my anger quickly turned to shock._

"_Uhm…Mione, I can explain."_

"_Well, you are now down to three minutes, so you should do so quickly." I said in a deadly calm tone. _

"_I-I don't know what I was doing. It was a mistake."_

"_It was not a mistake, Ronald, it was a choice. A choice you made," I jabbed a finger at the headline, "Three girls, Ron. Three. That was not a mistake."_

_His face flamed a bright red, but not in embarrassment. In anger. "Listen, Hermione. There is no reason to be so bloody unreasonable about this!"_

_My eyes widened and my jaw dropped in disbelief, "You have got to be joking me! I have every reason! You bloody cheated on me! A week before our wedding!"_

"_Yea, but only because I won't be able to do that after we get married! I was doing it for you!"_

_I stared at him as a wave of tears flooded down my face, "That's bloody ridiculous! You cheated on me!_

"_Calm down, Mione!" The stupid redhead had the nerve to try to put his arm around me. I quickly jumped out of the way and he let out a frustrated sigh, "Mione, just calm down. This time tomorrow, everything will be alright again. It always is. Then, next week, we'll be married, and everything will be perfect."_

_I frowned at him. Was that what I wanted? Bloody no! He cheated on me! I defiantly don't want that for myself. But what else do I know? I was always supposed to marry him. Everyone thought so. Even back in Hogwarts. But, I helped fight against the Dark Lord. I can take care of myself. I don't need a cheating bastard as my husband._

"_I think not, Ronald." I told him coldly. I yanked off my ring—the thing that symbolized our love and commitment to each other—and I threw it in his face. And before he could utter another word, I apperated away. _

I shook off the memory. I had already packed all of my stuff from the apartment we had shared and I now had a cozy little room at the Leaky Cauldron. Even though Harry and Ginny had offered to let me stay at their place, I had all but refused. I honestly just needed some time to myself right now.

I looked around to find an available elevator. I quickly rushed toward one that was about to leave and yelled, "Hold the elevator!"

"Oh, no problem, Hermione," said the familiar voice of Blaise Zabini.

"Thanks, Blaise." I murmured to him. No one else was in the elevator, and since we were both going to the same department, it should have been a short trip.

"So, Hermione…" Blaise started.

I cringed. Somehow, I had a feeling he would talk about the whole Ron thing. And since he was good friends with Malfoy…oh God.

"Yea, Blaise?" I asked hesitantly, willing the elevator to go faster.

"I just wanted to say sorry for what happened with Weasley. It really does suck."

"Yea…" I agreed quietly. An uncomfortable silence followed. I was dying to ask him if Malfoy had talked to him. Blaise and I had always had a comfortable relationship. Way better than his best friend. He had always been very charming, and he was also really nice. But, I still didn't know how to ask him if he had talked to Malfoy.

"Uhm…Blaise?"

He raised his eyebrows at me and I may have just imagined the hint of a smirk on his face, "Yes?"

"This may seem like an odd question, but…" I took a deep breath, "Have you seen Malfoy lately?" I finished in a rush.

I wasn't imagining his smirk, "Yes, actually. I spoke to him yesterday afternoon."

"Oh really?" I cringed again. Please don't say anything about my being drunk. Please, please, please.

He didn't say anything else. He just smirked at me. Since when was the elevator ride to our offices so long?

Finally, I decided I couldn't leave our conversation at that, "So, uhm, how has he been lately?" Dang it! Why did I have to sound so dang nervous?

"He's doing well…he said he had an interesting weekend."

I'm not sure what my face looked like when he said that, but I am sure that it was worthy of the front page of the Daily Prophet, "Oh really?" I sounded strangled, "What did he do that was so interesting?"

His smirk just seemed to grow, "Well, he said he went to a bar…" He stared at me pointedly.

"Ugh!" I cried out in frustration, "Not a word, Zabini," I hissed as our elevator finally slowed to our department, "Not a single word."

"Fine. We'll have lunch today and talk about everything." He winked before strutting off to his office.

"Zabini!" I yelled after him. When he didn't turn, I groaned and stalked off to my own office. I silently prayed that Draco Malfoy hadn't told anyone else about what had happened.

**Draco POV (SHABADABADOO)  
**

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. We appreciate your time." I stood and shook hands with yet another man trying to do business with me. Fortunately for him, I actually liked his sales pitch.

"Yes, it was nice doing business with you." I showed him to the door and then, once it was shut, I started stretching and rolling my neck. He was my last appointment before lunch. Blaise had asked me to come by his office for lunch to talk about his and Hermione's conversation. Therefore, the day had gone by at a snail's pace.

I locked my office door and told my secretary that I would be back by two. As I left the office, I thought back to when I started this business. A distant cousin of mine (on the Black side) had had this company that sold Broom Insurance. Insurance is more of a Muggle thing, but when I had heard there was a lot of money in it, I did more research. Then I figured out that broom insurance actually benefited a lot of people. And, since the war, I felt that every chance to help other people I could get was worth taking. I knew that I could never make up for the pain I had caused, but this couldn't hurt. So, I took over my cousins company and it was doing better than I could have imagined. At first, when I took over the Insurance company, all I got was negative response. Then, a couple of war heroes got some of the insurance, and people tentatively started giving me business. Now, it was booming.

I went into the Ministry through the visitors entrance. I tried to ignore the glares I got and kept my eyes forward and just went straight to the elevator. Ever since the war, I'd been getting those looks. Even though, I had never killed anyone. Just because I was associated with Death Eaters, everyone treated me like this. Well, not everyone. Just most people. Anyway, that's why I avoided the Ministry as much as I could.

I got into the elevator and was glad to see that no one else was in it. As the doors were beginning to shut, I heard someone yell, "Hold the elevator!" On reflex, I held my hand out. The person got into the elevator and murmured a thanks and I tensed when I realized who it was. It was Harry the-boy-who-lived Potter.

He looked down to press a button, but then said, "Oh, you already pushed the button for the Department of-Malfoy?!"

I cringed, "Yea."

He stared at me. Not glare. Not glower. Just…stare. "Can I help you with something, Potter?" I asked, my inner Hogwarts spoiled brat coming out. I tried to cool my tone. I was sure Granger had told him everything that had happened, and I didn't want to add fuel to an already large fire.

He snapped out of it, "Hermione told me what happened," I tensed for yelling or a hex or something. But, the tone of his voice said that that wasn't going to happen. "And…I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" I was surprised. Never, in a million years, had I ever imagined Harry Potter, my childhood nemesis, would ever thank me for anything. Ever.

"For not…doing anything. Ron was being an idiot, and normally, Hermione never would have done something so irrational. I'm just glad that you didn't try anything, and that some other crazy whack job didn't come after her instead. So I thank you for that." Potter made a face at something that I didn't want to understand.

I pondered that, and realized that would be a perfect excuse as to why I had helped her out in the first place, "Huh…and here I thought you were going to get angry."

"Oh, I was angry at first. Then I thought about it. And I thought about what could have happened. And I decided to be angry with Ron," started Potter. He looked as though he wanted to say more, but second guessed himself.

"Yea, well, he was an arse. Still is. Always was, actually." I smirked as Potter's eyes flashed as he wanted to defend his friend, but realized that he was angry with him and that I was right.

The elevator arrived to our destination.

"Why are you even here, Malfoy?"

"I'm eating lunch with Blaise."

"Oh. I'm here to drop off some things with Mione."

"Right, well, see you around, Potter."

"Yea, Malfoy…and thanks again. I mean it."

"…Right." I murmured as I walked into Blaise's office.

**Normal POV (Row row row your boat, gently down my...I mean the...stream...)  
**

Harry walked into Hermione's office and saw her hunched over her desk, working furiously on the latest project. She didn't even noticed when he walked in. He cleared his throat to get her attention, and she looked up quickly and smiled at him.

"Hey, Harry. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she sighed as she stretched and rolled her neck, "What brings you down to this department?"

He waved a manila folder in front of her, "I just have another case for you," she sighed as she took the folder from him, so Harry decided to change the subject, "So, have you had lunch yet?"

"No. And I'm supposed to meet with Blaise in a few to have lunch," She groaned as she remembered their conversation from earlier.

"Hang on, with Zabini? Only Zabini?" Harry remembered when Malfoy had just told him that _he _was supposed to have lunch with Zabini.

"Yea. With Blaise. Why?"

Harry had a feeling that Malfoy hadn't known about Hermione eating lunch with them. And neither did Hermione…so Zabini was planning something here. And, oddly…Harry didn't mind where this was going. He knew that Malfoy and Hermione needed to talk about what had happened instead of just pretending that nothing was going on. So, whatever Zabini was planning, he approved.

"No reason. Just curious. Well, I should be going now. I'll stop by later." He turned to leave as Hermione got up to go to the door.

"Ok, thanks Harry," She looked her office door behind her, "I'll see you later." She started to walk toward Zabini's door, so she didn't see when Harry smirked at her back. Harry thought to himself, "Yea, if you survive that lunch." He quickly went to the elevator to avoid the inevitable fireworks that were about to occur.

**Draco POV**

"Hey, Zabini. Are you ready to go?"

Blaise looked up from his paperwork at me, "In a minute. I'm almost done with this."

I sat down in one of the chairs he had that were normally for clients, "All right. I'm in no hurry."

"You may not be," he murmured from his desk, "But I am."

"What was that, Blaise?"

He looked up at me and smirked. It was a smirk I knew well, and I knew he was planning something. Something I would not enjoy, "I took the liberty of inviting someone else to lunch with us."

Uh oh. "Who?" I asked, but no sooner had I asked the question then the answer knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in, Hermione! I'll just be a minute as I finish this!" Blaise called to her.

"Blaise!" I hissed as I sat up in my seat and she walked into the room.

"I hope you didn't forget that we were supposed to be having-Malfoy?!" she stared at me and I stared back.

I hadn't noticed Blaise standing up, but in a second he was next to me saying, "Alright then, I'm all ready to go," Neither Hermione nor I moved an inch, "Come on, you lot! I'm starving!"

Well, damn.

**AN: Alright then. Here it is. Next chapter, we will have more Draco/Hermione interactions. **

**I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you all so much for reading! I don't think I thank you enough, but I really do appreciate it. **

**If anyone has anything they would like to see in the next chapter or just in the story in general, just let me know! **

**And, as always, REVIEW! Reviews are motivation! They make me smile every time! **

**Love you all, FlowerPainter **


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